A blog for memories & thoughts -- about God, family, friendship, literature, the South, home, England, and life -- with a recipe thrown in every so often.

Tuesday, 8 March 2011

Decorating for...Lent?

Last year was my first time to decorate for the season of Lent. I felt like we needed a visual reminder of the season and its purpose. I was inspired by the beautiful Lenten decorations at our church and my favorite psalm of the liturgical year.

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Mardi Gras mantle: bright and cheery during the dreary weather of Jan. and Feb.

Very noticeable change for the kids when they woke up on Ash Wed. and found the mantle changed to this. I bought a grapevine wreath and unwrapped it. The empty vessels came from Hobby Lobby and had flat sides for easy display.

My favorite psalm to sing in church. Although I miss the Gloria, this always speaks to my soul.

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This is the Good Friday mantle, with the plaque showing Jesus carrying the cross. I didn't take pictures of the rest, but we have one for Holy Thursday and the Last Supper and then a Resurrection one for Easter morning. On the Easter Vigil, we remove all the "dry desert" items and fill the mantle with Easter lilies. The children see the days of Holy Week and Easter unfold before the eyes.

A simple Lenten centerpiece for our table. I already had the dish. I bought the sand and rocks at Dollar Tree. The candle holder was less than a dollar at Wal-Mart, with just a simple tea light candle in the center. The purple cloth is just a bandana from a crafts store, for less than a dollar. It's nice to keep a Lenten centerpiece simple and inexpensive.

We Catholics know that our bodies were made for worshiping God and that all of our senses are involved. We have visual reminders of God, His love, His saints in our parishes and we need to build the same reminders in our own homes. Our mantle will be late this year, but I hope it will still be a powerful visual reminder that can help us stay on track during this Lenten season. God bless you and your families during this special season.

1 comment:

I love this Terri! It's really funny that I read this today, because I was just at the church today thinking that I really wish I would spend time and put up similar decorations too during Lent. Thanks for the inspiration! : )

At Considerable Cost

"I have found that violence is strangely capable of returningmy characters to reality and preparing them to accept their moment of grace. Their heads are so hard that almost nothing else will do the work. This idea, that reality is something to which we must be returned at considerable cost, is one which is seldom understood by the casual reader, but is one which is implicit in the Christian view of the world." --Flannery O'Connor

About Me

Formerly an un-churched, anti-Catholic from the deep south--now a Catholic convert--wife, mother, friend, Coordinator of Children's Ministry, teacher, reader, writer, and baker, but not a candle-stick maker. I long for beauty and truth and I appreciate it in places and people unexpected.

My friends tell me I was born in the wrong decade, if not the wrong century, but God makes no mistakes. I attempt to daily offer up my humble loaves and fishes to God, that he may provide me with what I need. This is my attempt to record some of my journey for my children and myself.

--Terri Duhon

Blessed Beyond

I am from the deep south.

I have found that anything that comes out of the South is going to be called grotesque by the Northern reader, unless it is grotesque, in which case it is going to be called realistic. --Flannery O' Connor